Refurbishment costs forstate-owned jet soar to €5m

Need to rent an engine drove up bill after American manufacturer warned that Gulfstream had gone beyond its recommended flying time

A 19-year-old government jet which Bertie Ahern once claimed had flown more
than any other aircraft “in the world or the Third World”, has been
refurbished at a cost of €5m over the past three years at the manufacturer’s
“insistence”.

The Gulfstream IV, in use since 1991, was overhauled after Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation, based in Savannah, Georgia, warned that the engine
had gone beyond the recommended flying time, documents released under the
Freedom of Information Act (FoI) show.

Repair costs for the €45m jet were “driven up” by the need to rent an engine
in 2009, according to the Defence Forces. In total, €1.9m was spent on
refurbishment in 2008 and €2.7m last year.

Part of the essential refurbishment, including remodelling the “grubby”
interior, was carried out by Gulfstream at its American base. The interior
had not been upgraded since 1991, but most Gulfstream IVs have their
interiors overhauled every